Convention garment articles, particularly limited-use disposable articles, such as disposable caps, gowns, diapers, incontinence garments and the like, have employed pressure-sensitive tape tabs to fasten the garment on the wearer. With these garments, it has been desirable to selectively disengage the tape fastener for various purposes. For example, a refastenable tape tab would allow a refitting of a disposable diaper on an infant, and would more readily allow a person to check for a soiled condition of the diaper. If the diaper is not soiled, the tapes could be refastened and a usable garment would not be wasted.
The materials employed for limited use garments are typically thin and do not have sufficient strength to withstand peeling forces generated by the removal of the tape fasteners. The garment material can tear and residual material can remain attached to the adhesive layer on the tape tab. As a result, the tape tab may be unusable or the garment may be too badly damaged for further use.
Various techniques have been employed to reinforce the fastening tape target area of the garment material. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,031 issued Aug. 19, 1975 to D. Endres, et al. describes a disposable diaper having a reinforced waistband. The diaper includes a facing sheet, backing sheet and a supplemental plastic strip which are heat sealed together at the diaper edge adjacent the end of an absorbent filler to provide a reinforced area at the edge of the waistband where the pressure-sensitive fastening tape is attached. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 4,296,750 issued Oct. 27, 1981 to L. S. Woon, et al. describes a disposable diaper in which a hot melt adhesive layer is applied onto an impermeable film backing to provide a composite structure having high resistance to tearing.
Other refastenable tape systems have employed multi-piece tapes which include a fastening tape portion and a target tape portion. Once the target tape portion has been positioned and secured onto a selected portion of a garment, the fastening tape can then be repeatedly removed and readhered. For example, see European patent application EP No. 0148 587 A2 published July 17, 1985 with the inventor listed as P. Pape.
U.K. patent application GB No. 2 135 568 A describes a disposable diaper having coded zones to enable the adjustment of a diaper to the infant and/or check the need for changing the size of a diaper in relation to the infant's weight.
Other refastenable tape systems have incorporated a plastic layer or strip affixed to an outer surface of a garment to provide a strengthened fastening zone. For example, see U. K. patent application GB No. 2 129 689 A published May 23, 1984 with L. Widlund listed as inventor. In addition, see European patent application EP No. 0 080 647 A1 published June 8, 1983 with R. de Jonckheere, et al. listed as inventors.
Conventional refastenable tape systems, such as those described above, have not been completely satisfactory. Multi-piece tape systems, such as those described in EP No. 0 148 587 A2 require a precise balance between the adhesive force which secures the target tape member to the outer surface of the garment and the adhesive force which secures the fastening tape tab onto the target member. If the adhesive force between the fastening tape and the target member is too high, the target member may peel or tear from the garment. Also, the target member is relatively small and allows only a small amount of repositioning of the fastening tape tab once the target member is affixed onto the garment.
Garment configurations in which a reinforcement layer is attached to the inner or outer surface of the garment outer layer have undesirably degraded the appearance of the garment. When affixed to the inner side of the garment outer cover layer, the bonding or adhesive pattern can undesirably show through the cover layer or can physically distort the cover layer. When affixed to the outer surface of the garment cover layer, there can be an unattractive contrast between the reinforcement layer and the remainder of the garment outer cover. The reinforcement layer is typically composed of an oriented, relatively high-strength film which presents a glossy, shiny surface. The high-strength film can be expensive, and its shiny appearance can undesirably contrast with the matte finish of the remainder of the garment and provide a harsh plastic appearance which consumers often find objectionable. In addition, conventional refastenable tape systems have not provided a sufficiently secure adhesive attached between the fastening tape and the attachment target zone of the garment. As a result, premature releasing of the fastening tape tab has remained a problem.